If you're already looking forward to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, don't expect a centralized urban hub like Salt Lake City. The town of Pyeongchang, according to Tom Kelly, is the size of Heber City.It's safe to say these Games will be about the mountains, and not just the host city."It's not close to any venue and it's not on the way to any venue," said Kelly, the vice president of communications for the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). Kelly recently returned from a 10-day visit.Pyeongchang is the capital city of a region in South Korea."It's all mountains," Kelly said. "The mountains are quite different from here; they're smaller, there's not a lot of elevation on them, but they're all pretty tree-covered, so there's no above-tree-line stuff. It's all forested mountains. And they're rugged. Very, very rugged." .......

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be prepared with focus on the best competition environment for athletes, rather than the glamour of an international event, its chief organizer said."The Olympics are not about the glitz and glamour of hosting an international event," Kim Jin-sun, president of the 2018 Olympics organising committee, told The Korea Herald."Rather, I believe that what I should do is to offer athletes the best possible environment so that they may bring about their best possible performances." .....

Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Kim Yu-na said Monday that she will hang up her skates after the 2014 Winter Games.

“I will retire after the Sochi Winter Olympics. Although the Vancouver Games were my final destination in my childhood, I have extended it to Sochi,” the 21-year-old said in a press conference at the National Training Center in Taeneung, northern Seoul.

Kim also said that after the 2014 Olympics, she will run to become an International Olympic Committee athlete member. She was key in bringing the 2014 Winter Games to PyeongChang.

Her announcement comes two weeks after saying in China that she will soon decide her future and after nearly two years during which she remained silent on the matter.

Kim, who won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games, sat out last season because she could not find the motivation or find any new goals as an athlete. Instead, she skated in corporate-sponsored ice shows and appeared in numerous advertisements including a beer commercial that raised several eyebrows.

She said that the time off gave her a chance to reflect on her future, which as it took until last week, is a telling sign of how difficult a decision it must have been. And she spoke openly about her fears and pressure.

“Although I was under pressure to live up to high expectations, I thought I may regret my decision if I quit here,” she said. “ I will make a fresh start as a national skater, not an Olympic champion. I want to be seen as a national team member, not the Olympic champion.”

Kim said that training with young skaters in Taeneung during her hiatus motivated her to extend her career.

She was the first female figure skater to achieve the grand slam of winning the Grand Prix Final, Four Continents Championships, World Championships and the Winter Olympics. Kim will begin performing at a competitive level this fall, but there has been no decision on coaching staff and a competition schedule as yet.

“I have just decided to continue skating, so I have not decided on coaching staff and the program (for this upcoming season).

“As I sat out last season, I cannot participate in the Grand Prix events. I will search for international competitions when I become fit.”

The skater, who took gold with a world record in Vancouver, said she is currently out of shape and will focus on physical training, while trying to achieve the fitness levels required to compete.

Pretty damn good, I'd say. She's an obvious contender, though it's always possible they may want to go with someone older- maybe a blast from the early past like Kim Ki-Hoon, the first Korean winter gold medalist. But Yu-Na would have to be there in 2018 in some form.

I'm not surprised the opening and closing ceremonies will be taking place in Hoenggae/Hoenggye (had no idea it was spelled like this in English, I had called it Hwaengye on these boards in the past). When I visited the Pyeongchang area before the 2014 vote, I was told by the locals that much of the Olympic activity would probably take place in or near Hoenggae, as it is closer to alpine activity (whereas Alpensia is more Nordic sports and sliding). I guess it can only help the ski jumpers, that their main venue can now concentrate on sports (and practices) rather than theatrics.

In other news, it's also good to hear that the Korea Forestry Service has reviewed the committee's plan to use Jungbong as the downhill venue and has given its approval.

And for taichi: "Next year along with the Master Schedule, the new logo and slogan will be unveiled for the new branding and following that, the base plans for the ceremonies and the Torch Relay will come in 2014. Olympic logo merchandise will be launched in 2015 after the main branding and look of the Games are in place."